Radio stations from Poza Rica, Veracruz

If you grew up in Poza Rica, or your parents did, the sound of the city has a specific shape: the hum of the refineries, the hustle around Boulevard Ruiz Cortines, and the radio playing in taxis, kitchens and workshops. Poza Rica is a young city by Mexican standards — it grew almost overnight with the oil boom of the mid-20th century — and its radio grew with it. Today you can hear 9 stations from Poza Rica live right here on Radio en Vivo, wherever in the United States you are.

This is the story of that radio, told through four stations whose histories trace the whole arc of broadcasting in the city: from the AM era of the 1950s, through the FM migration of the 2010s, to the format shuffles of recent years.

A city built on oil, a radio scene built on AM

Poza Rica sits in the north of Veracruz, the state's radio heartland, with 44 stations in our catalog. But unlike Xalapa or the port of Veracruz, Poza Rica's identity is industrial. Workers came from all over Mexico to the oil fields, and they brought their music with them — huapangos from the huasteca, cumbias from the south, boleros from everywhere.

The first stations here were AM outlets, modest in power, serving a compact city. Four of them would eventually migrate to FM and become the stations you can stream today.

The oldest thread: XEJD, today VIDA ROMÁNTICA 100.9

The deepest root in Poza Rica radio goes back to April 10, 1958, when XEJD-AM 1450 received its concession. It belonged to Manuel Franco Villars and ran with 1,000 watts by day and just 250 at night — a typical setup for a small-city AM of that era. In September 1967 the station was sold to the concessionaire that still holds it, and through the 1980s it upgraded to run its full 1,000 watts around the clock.

In November 2010, XEJD was authorized to move to the FM band — part of the nationwide AM-FM migration that reshaped Mexican radio — and it lives today as VIDA ROMÁNTICA 100.9, a romantic station owned by Radiorama. If your abuela had the radio on while cooking, this is that station: baladas, boleros, and voices that never rush. It's also the most-listened Poza Rica station in our directory, which says something about what people actually miss when they leave home.

The news voice: XEXK, today Radio Fórmula 100.1

News radio arrived in earnest in January 1972, when XEXK-AM 1080 got its concession under Radio Poza Rica, S.A., broadcasting days-only with 250 watts. Its growth mirrors the growth of the city itself: 500 watts in 1978, a nighttime service of 100 watts in 1986, raised to 250 in 1987, and by 1994 a full 10,000 watts — enough to reach well beyond the city.

In 2000 the station was sold to Radio Fórmula, one of Mexico's big national news networks, and in November 2010 it too migrated to FM, soon moving to its own transmitter site. Today 100.1 Radio Fórmula is the place for talk, news and the network's signature opinion programs. For pozarriqueños in the US who want to know what's happening back home — and what Mexico City is saying about it — this is the frequency.

The 1990s generation and the arrival of FM music

EXA FM 101.9: from Stereorey to pop for a new generation

By the early 1990s, Mexico was licensing new FM stations, and Poza Rica got its pop outlet when XHRIC-FM received its concession on July 2, 1993. It was originally owned by Marcos López Mora, a federal deputy, and today belongs to Marcos López Zamora. From the start it carried an MVS Radio format — first Stereorey, the classic soft-pop network many remember from the 90s, and then, in 2001, it became EXA FM 101.9, the youth pop brand it still carries.

EXA is the sound of a certain generation of Poza Rica: reggaetón, pop latino, and the irreverent morning shows that got you through la prepa.

Éxtasis Digital 105.9: a format that moved house

The newest chapter in the story shows how Mexican radio groups keep reshuffling the deck. XECOV-AM 790 received its concession on April 5, 1994, running 1,000 watts by day and 500 by night under Radiorama's concessionaire, Radio Social, S.A. Like its AM siblings, it migrated to FM in November 2010.

The twist came in February 2021, when the rock format Éxtasis Digital moved from XHPR-FM 102.7 — a consequence of the sale of XHPR-FM and XHPW-FM to Marcos López Zamora, the same owner as EXA 101.9. The format found its new home at EXTASIS DIGITAL 105.9. Notice the pattern: two families and two groups — Radiorama and the López interests — essentially trade stations and formats between each other, and the dial stays full.

The stations to know today

Of the 9 Poza Rica stations streaming live in our catalog, these are the ones to start with:

• VIDA ROMÁNTICA 100.9 — baladas and boleros, the most-loved station in the city
• Globo 102.7 — the Globo format's romantic-grupera mix
• EXA FM 101.9 — pop latino and current hits for younger listeners
• ARROBA FM 89.3 — youth-oriented hits and talk
• Éxtasis Digital 105.9 — rock en español, from Caifanes to present-day bands
• 100.1 Radio Fórmula — news, talk and national opinion programming

What you'll hear: genres on the Poza Rica dial

The genre mix in Poza Rica leans heavily toward music, with two clear standouts:

• Pop Latino and Éxitos — 6 stations. The dominant sound of the city.
• Rock en Español — 6 stations. Éxtasis Digital anchors this, and the overlap with pop formats means you'll hear plenty of guitar-driven hits across the dial.
• Noticias y Hablada — 2 stations, led by Radio Fórmula.
• Clásicos y Retro — 2 stations for the Throwback Thursday crowd.
• Románticas y Baladas — 1 station, but with Vida Romántica at the top of the charts, it punches above its weight.

If you want to browse by mood rather than by city, our Pop Latino, Rock en Español, Noticias, Clásicos and Romántica pages all list the Poza Rica stations alongside the rest of the catalog.

How to listen from the US

Everything here streams live, 24 hours a day, so the only real logistics question is the clock.

The time difference

Poza Rica is in the Central zone: same time as Chicago, Dallas and Houston; one hour behind New York and Miami; one hour ahead of Denver and Los Angeles. That makes scheduling easy:

• Want the morning shows live with your breakfast in Texas or Illinois? They're on at the same hour as at home.
• On the East Coast? Morning drive in Poza Rica starts at what feels like 6 a.m. your time — great for early risers.
• In California, prime-time romantic programming at 8 p.m. in Poza Rica hits at 6 p.m. your time, right at dinner.

Practical tips

• Bookmark your station page. Each station's page, like EXA FM, streams directly in the browser — no app needed.
• Use the favorites. Save your two or three go-to stations so you're not searching every morning.
• Check the news station for home news. Radio Fórmula's network programming gives you national context; the local cut-ins give you Poza Rica itself.
• Wi-Fi beats data for long listening, though modern streams are light enough for mobile data on most plans.

Explore beyond Poza Rica

One of the best things about internet radio is that "local" no longer means local. Once you've caught up with Poza Rica, the whole Mexican dial is open to you. Some places worth a stop:

• Veracruz state — 44 stations, including the port, Xalapa and the whole coast.
• Mexico City — the biggest market in the country with 350 stations, from talk giants to niche music formats.
• Guadalajara — 59 stations and a strong regional-Mexican music scene.
• Monterrey — 52 stations with a northern flavor, plus the wider Nuevo León catalog.
• Sinaloa — 67 stations, home base for banda and norteño.

Why local radio still matters

There's a reason the most-streamed Poza Rica station here isn't a national network — it's Vida Romántica, the station that grew out of a 1,000-watt AM signal licensed in 1958. Local radio carries the texture of a place: the sponsor reads for shops you recognize, the birthday shout-outs, the weather that matters because it's your weather. When you're a thousand miles away in Houston or Chicago or Los Angeles, that texture is exactly what you're reaching for.

So put on Vida Romántica while you cook, catch the news on Radio Fórmula on your commute, and let Éxtasis Digital soundtrack your Friday night. Poza Rica is one click closer than it was.